Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-05-25
IVORY DECORATIONS.
How the More Delicate Carvings Are Eek.
ecuted, Polished and Stained.

How the More Delicate Carvings Are Ex-
ecuted, Polished and Stained.
The artistic use of ivory is becoming
so general that nearly every well-ar-
ranged room has one or more piece of
work carved entirely out of or inlaid
with this beautiful substance. Appre-
citation of the effects which artistic fur
nishers make out of ivory carvings has
received a sincere impulse and an
aesthetic cultivation recently by expo
sitions, not only in our American mu-
seums, but in the bric-a-brac establish
ments, where good limitations of clas-
steal carvings are placed on exhibition.
Formerly miniature sculptures, of fine
execution and beautiful design, were to
be seen in all the principal museums of
Europe and America, but the price at
which they were valued made it impos-
sible for ivory carvings to be used gen.
orally as household decorations. With
improved methods of carving came a
more general demand for small ivory
figures which could be used as orna-
ments, and, as result, the subjects
became more varied and less conven-
tional. The carvings were no longer
confined to attempts to reproduce the
classical works of the ancients, but rep
resented every phase of the present
life. We now have beautiful toilet az
ticles with carvings of flowers and ara
besque; caskets of ivory worthy to en-
close gems; little statues of genre de-
signs; birds and greyhounds and min
iature figures of humanity. Striking
groups and scenes from life are carved
out of the white substance, and the
whole inlaid with differently colored
ivory, which gives the picture reals
tic and beautiful appearance.
The more delicate carvings have to
be executed by a trained hand and an
artistic eye. Many women are en-
ployed in this work, especially in the
ivory manufactures of Europe, where
they are paid good wages for their
labor. The rougher work, such as
making billiard balls, rings for harness
and ivory handles, is done entirely
by machinery, but since the demand
for fine household ornaments has
grown SO steadily, a large number of
gifted women have been given employ
ment in the manufactures to do the
fine polishing and designing. The
ivory used is taken not only from At
RIGA and Asia and the fossil mammoth
of Siberia, but also from the horns of
the hippopotamus, the tusks of the
walrus and the sword of the narwhaL
The grain of the several kinds differs
very materially, and in proportion to
the deiicateness of the lines is the
price paid for it. The elephant tusk
represents the finest specimens of
ivory. When the tusks are brought
into the workshop they are cut in
shapes necessary for carving, by ma
chinery. The objects are designed be-
forehand, and suitable piece is cut
out from the sheet at one turn of the
wheel. These pieces are then taken
by the artists, who design and polish
them until fashioned ready for the
store. The carvers sit at long desks
facing windows of light, and they use
salt and water beneath the touch of
their fine tools The polishing is ac-
complished upon wheels or ''buffs'
covered with Canton flannel and there
are watts of colored liquid for staining
tints. When the carving is finally fin
ished it represents exquisite work.
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